Shoe structure, insole, and method of making same



Feb. 17, 1942. E. A. ELLIS 2,273,697

SHOE STRUCTURE, INSOLE, AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed May 4, 1940 I Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED-[staresPATEN OFFICE 2,273,697 snon-srnuo'ruan, INSOLE, AND METHOD.

oFMAK NG SAME 7 'Elmer AiEllis, Medford, Mass. I Appii eationMay 4, 1940, Serial No. 333,283- 2 Claims. (91. 12-142)- presentinvention is a, noveland-improved insole structure,- the resultant. shoe: structure made therewith, and includes-a method or process,of making both insole and-shoe. .At present, in the; manufacture of boots and shoes where both aninsoleandoutsole are employed, it is customary, particularly in welt shoes, to make the insole with a reinforcing-layer of canvas or textile material usually knownin the trade as gemmed duck. The. gemmingprocess 1.

consists in applying the reinforcing duck tothat surface of the insole to. which the; outsole is attached, and is to reinforce theinsolef'particularly' at the sewing rib and to take, up.v the widthwise strains in the insole. Y

A difficulty with suchpriorstructures has been that the gemmed duck and insole; being united together by. adhesive, tends to render the .resultant shoe structure too rigid and stiff for comfort; and many efforts have been, made' to provide a more flexible and pliable shoe.stru 3.-. ture particularly at the forepart, the advantages incident toa flexible forepartjin combination with a rigidshank 'andheel seatj being. well known inthetrade.

add tothe flexibility of the forepart, of the shoe, to put theinsole thrita slashingor fiexinggma chine, which made a series, ofjshort crosswise cuts, preferably staggered 'relatively'to each other directly inthe insole along the forepart. Q

This was frequently done both before the gemmed duck was applied as well as afterward, but such prior efforts were unsatisfactory as unduly weakening the insole structure, and, furthermore, not producing a flexible or yielding result in the correct position suitable for the wearer of the shoe.

My present invention aims to obviate the difliculties above noted and to provide a shoe structure by reason of my novel insole and gemmed duck construction and method, whereby a flexible forepart in the shoe will be automatically effected and produced by the wearer of the shoe during normal walking action and exactly at the right place and position to suit the comfort and convenience of the wearer.

Therefore, I have devised an automatically flexible shoe sole structure along the forepart where flexibility and pliability is desired, and to flexing machine operations, as well as eliminat- 5 Heretofore, ithasgbeen.customary, in order to outsole attached, the lengthwise threads can be 'ing the various handling and skilled operators previously required to perform such flexing, and. enables the footwear to be fitted directly tov the customer and subsequently rendered flexible and pliable automatically and thru. the ordinary-use and wear, towhich the shoes may be put, thus enabling the flexing action to be in just theright position and location, as well as extent .and amount suitable for the individual wearer."

In carrying out my invention, I provide a novel and improved gemmed duck structure wherein the gemmed duck is woven with the lengthwise or warp threads relatively light and thin, and the cross, filling, or woof relatively. strong and heavy. Thus, whenthe gemmed duck is applied to the insole. during the, gemming operation, the strengthis mainly Widthwise of the i'nsole,'while the, lengthwise or warp threads are sufficiently light to be stretchable or breakable during the bending and flexing of the shoe in walking. Since substantially the entire strength required in gemmed'duck on an insole iswidthwise, the, rela tively heavy filler will provide this widthwise strength, which issufilcient to keep, the insole from spreading, as well as .to reinforce and strengthen the sewing rib, and, asin welt shoes, the inseam stitching is made to cross and interlock with the heavy filler threads of the gemmed duck;

Thereafter, when the shoe is completed and the readily broken or stretched sufliciently to give to the forepart the desirable pliability and flexibility desired.

While'my, present invention is primarily advan tagleo us for, use in a weltinsole, it can of course also be applied as a" reinforcing layer toMcKay shoes as well as in the so-called Littleway process, Del-Mac process, and any other shoe structure which requires a reinforcing layer for the insole.

Referring to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of my present invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a strip of gemmed duck, wherein the cross, filler, or woof threads are relatively heavy, and the lengthwise or warp threads sufficiently light to be stretchable or breakable, or both, the drawing illustrating these features in an overdrawn proportion and spacing for clearness;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a reinforced insole with my improved gemmed duck illustrating a welt shoe which has been gemmed, and. with the welt attached by inseaming, also shown I in exaggerated form for clearness;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in perspective illustrating a completed shoe with the outsole broken away to illustrate the stretchable and breakable warp threads in the gemmed duck after the shoe has been flexed or bent, as in walking; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale illustrating the breakable warp threads in distorted form.

As shown in the drawing, I first prepare my gemmed duck l with a woven structure, wherein the warp threads 2 are relatively light, thin, and both stretchable and breakable, preferably breakable under the flexing action of bending the forepart along the ball of the foot as in walking, and as above explained.

For this purpose, viz., to have the gem duck of unbreakable strength widthwise, the cross-filling members 3 are relatively heavy. These filling members 3 can be of usual strength, tension, and diameter and size utilized in the various grades and weights of gemmed duck as now made, or they may be still heavier; while the warp threads 2 running lengthwise of the gemmed duck material I are the lighter and breakable members 2, as shown. In these figures I have separated the interwoven members for clarity, and it will be appreciated that in normal gemmed duck weaving, all the layers will be closely beaten together by the weaving reeds.

As shown in Fig. 2, a suitable layer of my novel type of gemmed duck l is applied to an insole and secured thereto by adhesive, with the marginal edge portions as indicated in enlarged cross-section at 5-5 upstanding against the sewing rib structure 6 of the insole, to which a welt J0 issecured by stitching l2 thru the upstanding edge [4 of the welt Hi, this being the usual Goodyear inseam stitching structure, as is well known. 1

The'usual shoe manufacturing operations are carried out with my novel type of gemmed duck fitted into the insole as the reinforcing means for the shoe and for the inseam sewing rib 5.

The outsole 20 is applied by outsole stitching 2| thru the marginal edge of the outsole and the margin of the welt I I], thus securing the outsole to the shoe. The upper materials 22 are united by inseam stitching l2 thru the rib 6 of the insole '1 in theusual way, and a suitable filling material 25 is fitted between the inseam rib 6, as is customary in welt shoe manufacture.

With the shoe thus completed by standard shoe factory methods, the last is then removed and the shoe ready for sale and fitting on the customer. Because of the relatively fine lengthwise warp threads in the gemmed duck, the shoe will naturally be more flexible than when ordinary gemmed duck is used; but in addition is the further feature of permitting the lengthwise warp members to stretch and break, particularly as shown at 3030, Figs. 3 and. 4, thus establishing a definite line of flexibility and pliability widthwise of the ball of the shoe.

Furthermore, this breakable feature of the warp threads permits each individual to effect this flexibility or breaking in of the shoe at exactly the right point to fit the foot of the wearer. It is, of course, feasible if desired to bend or flex the shoe before it is fitted or worn, thus producing a breaking of the warp threads or a stretching of those which will stretch sufficiently for breaking, as on the sides or portions near the sewing rib, to thus produce a pre-flexed shoe.

The inseam stitching engaging the cross threads 3 affords the strength necessary and desired for holding the shoe widthwise and the inseam stitching, this being the principal function of gemming an insole, which function is not in the least minimized by my invention of a breakable and stretchable lengthwise warp thread structure and the resulting flexible shoe, as above explained. 77

I claim:

1. A flexible insole for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes, comprising a base layer, and a reinforcing textile layer, said two layers being secured together by adhesive, said textile layer being woven with relatively heavy warp threads and relatively light cross-threads, and applied to said base layer with the heavy warp threads crosswise of the insole, said light threads being lengthwise of the insole and normally capable of withstanding lasting strains during shoe manufacture, but breakable upon flexing of the sole during use.

2. The improved method of making boots and shoes flexible, which consist in preparing an insole blank of suitable material, applying to said blank a reinforcing layer of textile material, said textile material being initially woven with relatively heavy warp threads and relatively light cross-threads, the insole blank and reinforcing textile layer being united by adhesive, with the warp threads crosswise of the insole and the light threads lengthwise, completing the shoe structure by standard manufacturing shoe processes, and thereupon flexing the shoe sole as during use to break the light threads in the reinforcing textile layer.

EIMER A. ELLI S. 

